michael leibson : thinkingMusic

Jazz

Giant Steps, Central Park West, and Modulatory Cycles

John Coltrane wasn’t the first to experiment with equal
subdivisions of the octave (experiments go back to at least 1825), but his
Giant Steps placed this radically different approach to harmony front
and centre within the jazz world. Its unusual beauty and power still exert
an influence, half a century later.

However, in our fascination with the what of Coltrane’s octave
subdivision, we can at times forget that its how is equally
important. That Coltrane himself subjected it to vastly divergent treatments
attests to the importance he placed on exploring its technical means.

Both Giant Steps and Central Park West were constructed
using its methods, and yet these classics couldn’t be more dissimilar in
tone and artistic effect. Their difference bears witness to the fact that
Coltrane ceaselessly sought to discover the how of octave
subdivision, so that he could learn to master its inherent characteristics,
and use it with deliberate, artistic intent.

This analysis explores those discoveries, as they are embodied within the
techniques used to create these masterpieces.

Danny Grissett: invention, design, and technique

Pianist/composer Danny Grissett plays with a naturalness and ease that can readily deceive his audience.
Swept up by his beautiful tone and expressive lyricism, we can all too easily fail to register just how
astonishingly inventive his music really is — there are gems of creativity and design at every level.

This in-depth analysis traces two measures of a Grissett solo, to uncover a world of complex design,
invention, and technique. It is accompanied by Grissett’s own comments.

Just Friends

Borrowed from the thinkingHarmony section of thinkingMusic.ca, this
analysis takes a close look at Just Friends' harmonic structure. While the tune itself is a
venerable standard, its harmony contains some unusual moves. Along the way,
the analysis discusses sequence, mode change, modulatory technique,
back-relating secondary dominants, and various uses of the common-tone°7
chord.

Rising Sun

Modern Classical

L'Histoire du Soldat

L'Histoire du Soldat, by Igor Stravinsky, is a
masterpiece of originality in relation to both musical time and tonality.
While there are compositional riddles hidden in almost every measure, for me
its biggest enigma lies within its very first bars — in the ‘fanfare’, that
so archly launches the
Soldier's Story. This analysis begins as a response to that puzzle,
and goes on to explore the tonal and metrical aspects of Marche,
the piece’s opening movement.

Marche is a musical landscape in which events have multiple
meanings, and musical objects simultaneously possess more than one identity.
At its allegorical heart, L'Histoire du Soldat is a story about
truth and illusion — and Marche poses that question musically.
Coming soon!

Classical

So much beauty, so little time! This section of the site is
simply 'reserved' for future analyses.